When change is the only constant, imagination is the only way forward.
As student success teams face mounting pressure for enhanced support, we need to reimagine how we support students in the first place.
Artificial intelligence (AI) can help to meet these demands when designed intentionally, extending the capacity of human advisors, improving workflows, and enhancing the overall student experience.
Recently, we introduced the idea of Unbundling and Rebundling workflows as a way to rethink and optimize student support. Here, we’ll dive deeper into how student success teams can rethink workflows with AI.
The Shift: Unbundling Workflows in Student Support
A growing body of research highlights the potential of hybrid advising to expand advisor capacity by integrating AI into student support workflows. One notable initiative, the Hybrid Advising Co-op, brought together five organizations to explore how AI tools, like chatbots, can unbundle repetitive tasks and rebundle workflows to maximize human impact. This collaborative effort culminated in the creation of the Hybrid Advising Playbook, a resource that offers detailed guidance on designing AI-enhanced advising models.
Understanding Unbundling and Re-bundling
In the enterprise world, AI unbundles tasks traditionally performed by humans and rebundles them into software solutions. This process involves:
- Unbundling: Breaking down complex workflows into individual tasks.
- Rebundling: Reassembling these tasks into software-dominant workflows, enhancing efficiency and scalability.
A Framework for Transformation
Step 1: Map Current Workflows
Break down key student journeys (e.g., financial aid, enrollment) into discrete steps. Identify bottlenecks, repetitive tasks, and areas for high-touch support.
- Example: At West Texas A&M University, mapping the FAFSA process revealed key barriers, such as incomplete forms or confusion about deadlines. AI-supported step-by-step guidance helped overcome these obstacles, tripling on-time FAFSA completion rates.
Step 2: Unbundle Tasks Thoughtfully
Delegate routine, transactional tasks (e.g., reminders, FAQs) to AI, freeing staff to focus on complex, high-value interactions.
- AI Conversations: Design AI interactions that provide actionable guidance and ensure seamless human escalation for nuanced needs.
- Example: At Cal Poly Pomona, their AI assistant “Billy Chat” sent personalized reminders about financial aid and advising deadlines, enabling advisors to concentrate on deeper student support.
Step 3: Rebundle for Efficiency and Equity
Reassemble workflows where AI handles scalable tasks while human advisors address sensitive or high-stakes challenges.
- Equity Focus: Use AI to increase outreach to underserved students, ensuring equitable access to support.
- Example: At GSU, AI-enabled processes freed advisor capacity to focus on first-generation students, resulting in higher persistence rates and improved outcomes.
How to Get Started
- Start Small: Select one high-impact workflow to enhance, such as course registration or financial aid.
- Map and Analyze: Break down the workflow to identify friction points and tasks suitable for AI.
- Design and Deploy Thoughtfully: Develop AI conversations with clear objectives, actionable guidance, and escalation paths.
- Monitor and Iterate: Continuously refine AI performance based on data and feedback.
- Keep Equity Front and Center: Use freed capacity to focus on underserved populations and address equity gaps.
Scaling Efficiency While Advancing Equity
AI isn’t just about doing more with less. It’s about redesigning workflows to focus resources where they are needed most, enabling institutions to meet student needs at scale while improving outcomes for all.
Efficiency in Action
AI can take on routine, time-consuming tasks, such as sending reminders, answering FAQs, or flagging incomplete forms. These interventions free up advisors to focus on the high-touch, complex support that only humans can provide. For example:
- Academic Success: At Georgia State University, AI extended beyond enrollment processes to support academic persistence. By proactively offering guidance through introductory courses, the AI increased the likelihood of first-generation students earning a B or higher by up to 35%, highlighting how AI conversations drive tangible academic improvements.
Equity at the Forefront
AI also helps close equity gaps by ensuring underserved students receive the support they need. By proactively engaging students who might not otherwise seek help, AI creates capacity for advisors to focus on building trust and addressing barriers to success. Examples include:
- Retention Gains: AI-enabled proactive communication at GSU helped improve year-to-year persistence rates by 2–3 percentage points, showing how equity-focused workflow redesign benefits all students while creating outsized gains for at-risk populations.
- FAFSA Completion: At West Texas A&M University, AI supported first-generation and low-income students through the complex FAFSA process. This approach tripled on-time FAFSA filing rates, demonstrating how AI conversations can overcome psychological and logistical barriers.
By combining efficiency with a focus on equity, institutions can meet today’s challenges head-on. AI doesn’t just streamline processes—it helps deliver personalized, human-centered support at scale, ensuring every student has the opportunity to thrive.
AI won’t replace human advisors, but it can make their work more effective. Thoughtfully applied, it transforms how institutions support students—scaling services, advancing equity, and ensuring every learner has the tools to succeed.
The shift is already underway. Ready to get started?